We all know the end of any year tends to be one of the busiest times for anyone in the optical industry. It can get a bit crazy between the holidays and patients trying to cash in their vision plans before they reset.
Now that has passed, many practices are seeing their lab bills in a new light and most likely thinking about how they can lower that bill so they can increase their bottom line without sacrificing the quality products that their patients have come to expect.
Just like your New Year's resolutions, there is no better time than the first of the year to take an objective look at what your current wholesale optical lab is doing for you and if there is any room for improvement.
Of course, I'm biased and would love for you to take a look at IcareLabs. Even if you already do business with us you might be using multiple labs for multiple reasons. Could we fill more of your needs?
With all of the insurance plans out there today having only one lab is almost impossible but you could could utilizing Icarelabs for more of your business to simplify your 2019?
That being said, let's talk about a few of the key areas that most practices are going to want to make sure they have covered along with what exactly IcareLabs can bring to the table for you there.
1) Price
Getting the best price possible on what you offer your patients is the easiest way to lower your lab bill but we all know not all price lists are created equal. Many wholesale optical labs have almost as many price lists as they do customers. Being part of the Icare family means you'll always get our best price regardless of your volume and without having to commit to a contract.
Knowing you don't have to comb over every invoice to make sure you're getting the prices you're supposed to saves you time. You'll also have access to your invoices and our complete pricing via our myIcareLabs.com customer portal whenever you need it.
2) Availability
Many practices prefer to stick with a name brand for their go-to progressive lenses which can help do some of the heavy lifting in the marketing department to get patients in the door. This is usually a great strategy but what about your more budget conscience patients that still want to get the best bang for their buck?
Being able to offer a solid house brand progressive lens can be a vital step in ensuring your practice is able to accommodate 100% of the patients that walk through your door.
What about the patient that comes in proclaiming they've done their "research" and want a specific brand name high-end lens? Does your current wholesale optical lab have the ability to get that done in a timely manner or do you have to turn that patient away?
We are a certified digital processing lab for Varilux, Shamir, Kodak, Seiko, and have two great house brand digital progressives (Heritage and Legacy lenses). We also have capability for certain Zeiss, Hoya, and value PALs like ShoreView, Navigator, and Younger Image.
We also process the full line of Crizal Anti-Reflective coatings in-house (including Sapphire) along with our IceAR and standard AR options.
Having one of the largest selections of lenses and services on the market means we can help give your practice the edge it needs to stand out from the competition and big box stores.
3) Customer Service
Does your lab offer on-site customer service? All of our customer service agents are right here where your jobs are processing instead of 4 states away in a call center. This means we have the ability to go above and beyond for rush jobs and more. Our friendly and knowledgeable staff have over 70+ years of combined experience to help you get the answers you need. Our live chat is also available.
Every IcareLabs customer also has access to our user-friendly, proprietary website 24/7 that allows you to place/track orders and so much more! We also have a fully staffed 2nd shift running until midnight or 1 am on most nights to help process all jobs in a timely manner.
If you have 2 minutes, you can watch the below video to take a tour of our lab and get a better feel for who we are and what we do:
With our simplified online ordering system and flat fair pricing, there is not an easier lab to work with.
See what the Icare difference can do for your practice and your profit margins today. Don't forget to utilize our redesigned Resource Center any time you need it too!
